The Blackcaps' five-match one-day series against India begins tonight and I can't wait. Short-form cricket's their strength - this should be a cracking contest.
The Test series was anything but. But honestly, did we expect any different?
Our batsmen struggled in India against world-class spin from Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja on surfaces that looked like Anzac biscuits.
But then, New Zealand teams have ALWAYS struggled on the sub-continent, and we're not alone: India's lost one series at home in the last 12 years.
The 3-0 series loss should come as no great surprise.
But their heavy defeats have sent alarm bells ringing. There have been calls for emerging talent to spend extended periods in subcontinent conditions to ensure they're better equipped to deal with being under the Test match microscope in the most challenging conditions.
You have to ask: what is the point?
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Given that even our most experienced and skilful batsmen couldn't deal with what they faced over the last few weeks, it's clear that brief exposure to these conditions simply doesn't make a difference.
In days gone by, our best players would spend the winter playing county cricket in England to gain valuable knowledge and experience in foreign conditions.
Players these days simply don't have the time to devote to mastering Indian conditions because their winters are now filled by Twenty20 cricket.
And that's the real point here. The short form is where the focus should naturally lie. Test cricket is tired. Players speak of it being the pinnacle of the game, but reality suggests otherwise.
Actions speak louder than words, and if world cricket (read: India) were serious about reviving the five-day game, they would have acted on calls to introduce a two-tiered system to bring context and meaning to a flagging format.
Would I like the Blackcaps to be great at Test cricket? Of course.
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There is still nothing better than watching our cricketers don the whites and swing the red ball on a hot summer's day at the Basin Reserve, Seddon Park or Hagley Oval.
But the dollars matter more at the ICC. If the rest of the world doesn't care about the longest form of the game, should we? Or the players?
The results of the last few weeks are a sad sign of where Test cricket is heading. Predictable, one-sided contests, and little motivation to improve for players who know that short-form cricket is their livelihood whether they like it or not.
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